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Now open: Lanvin on Rodeo Drive

January 31, 2011 | 10:31
am

Right smack in the middle of awards show season, Lanvin has opened its first boutique in Los Angeles. Located on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, the store is 4,520 square feet, which makes it one of the French fashion house's largest in the world. It features the full range of Lanvin luxuries, including men's and women's apparel, swimwear, denim, jewelry and gift items, such as special heart-shaped Valentine's Day keychains, as well as notecards, notebooks and pencils decorated with whimsical drawings by Lanvin creative director Alber Elbaz.

From the mannequins with bright colored wigs holding balloons in the front windows, to the denim beach totes emblazoned with jeweled sunglasses inside, there's no mistaking Lanvin's sense of fun. And it's a welcome break from the sometimes stuffy Rodeo Drive experience.

The Beverly Hills Lanvin location is the fourth in the U.S. It's more open than the New York store, and more inviting than the Las Vegas store. Inside, parquet floors, Art Deco antiques with leopard-print cushions, theatrical-looking drop can lights and vintage 1930s black-and-white glamour photos of house models on the walls lend an Old Hollywood feel.

There's plenty for the red carpet, from a $3,580 long-sleeved purple silk gown, to a $5,190 white strapless bias-cut silk gown gathered into a frill at the back. The white dress is from Lanvin's Blanche bridal collection, which has its own section in the back corner.

For men, the store is the first in the United States to offer made-to-measure suits (they take about six weeks to complete). There are also lots of casual chic pieces, including a sharp blue velvet jacket ($2,640), long sleeved polo shirts with grosgrain ribbon plackets ($350), and the house's signature capped-toe leather sneakers ($420), oversized bow ties ($310) and fabric flower lapel pins ($165).

The VIP shopping area, modeled after the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles, isn't quite finished yet -- not that it's stopped the VIPs from coming in, according to the store manager.

An opening party is being planned for late March, when Elbaz will make the trip from Paris to celebrate.